Server, user terminal, and service providing method, and control method thereof

ABSTRACT

An example system includes an electronic device and a server. The electronic device includes a display; a first communicator; and a first controller configured to: control to transmit, to the server, location data identifying locations of the electronic device. The server includes a second communicator; and a second controller configured to: control to receive the location data; identify a course of travel; link photograph images to locations on the course of travel; and control to transmit to the electronic device the course of travel and the photograph images. The first controller of the electronic device is configured to control to receive the course of travel and the photograph images and to control to display on the display, at the same time, a map image, the course of travel, and one or more of the photograph images linked to a selected location on the course of travel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/227,503, filed on Apr. 12, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 16/809,435, filed on Mar. 4, 2020, now U.S. Pat.No. 10,977,850, which is a continuation U.S. application Ser. No.16/566,799, filed on Sep. 10, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,586,365, whichis a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/374,558, filed on Dec.9, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,438,388, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/755,588, filed on Jun. 30, 2015, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,546,881, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/943,711, filed on Nov. 10, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,080,893, whichclaims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Korean Patent ApplicationNo. 10-2009-0109512, filed on Nov. 13, 2009, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office. The contents of each of these applications areincorporated herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present invention relates generally to a server, a user terminal anda service providing method, and more particularly, to a server thatprovides a street image, a user terminal and a service providing method,and a control method thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

Location Based Services (LBSs) and Geographical Information Systems(GISs) have been rapidly developed in association with GlobalPositioning System (GPS) techniques.

Such rapid development has enabled people to utilize informationrelating to where a specific object is placed, where they are, or whereto head to, almost anytime and anywhere. A digital camera has beenrecently made available, which utilizes a technique to receive a GPSsignal and geographically tag (‘geotag’) location information to aphotograph taken by the digital camera.

SUMMARY

The present invention has been made to address at least the aboveproblems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantagesdescribed below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present inventionprovides a server that enables a user to experience an environment of aphotographing location, using photographed data and correspondinglocation information thereof, a user terminal and a service providingmethod, and a control method thereof.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method forproviding a service is provided that comprises extracting positioninformation from an image and displaying a map image including a visualelement indicating a position associated with the image based on theextracted position information of the image, wherein the map image isdisplayed along with an image associated with the position according toa first user input, and a street image is displayed along with the imageassociated with the position according to a second user input.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, an electronicdevice for displaying a map image is provided that includes a displayconfigured to display the map image; and a controller configured toextract position information of an image, to control the display todisplay a map image including a visual element indicating a positionassociated with the image based on the extracted position information,to control the display to display the map image along with an imageassociated with the position according to a first user input, and todisplay a street image along with the image associated with the positionaccording to a second user input.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptionwhen taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a display service, according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagrams illustrating a display apparatus thatprovides the display service, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating a user terminal that providesthe display service, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating a server that provides thedisplay service, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display method, according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C are diagrams illustrating a display method,according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are diagrams illustrating a display method,according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating examples of displaying the mapimage of FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a display method of a displayapparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for generating data of auser terminal, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a server,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description, the same or similar reference numerals maybe used for the same or similar elements when they are illustrated indifferent drawings. Detailed descriptions of constructions or processesknown in the art may be omitted to avoid obscuring the subject matter ofthe present invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a display service, according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a display system includes a display apparatus 100and a user terminal 200.

The display apparatus 100 may be implemented as a television (TV), butis not limited thereto. Accordingly, the display apparatus 100 mayalternatively be implemented as any apparatus employing a displayfunction, such as an electronic frame, a Personal Computer (PC), alaptop computer, or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

The user terminal 200 refers to an apparatus with photographingfunction, and may representatively be implemented as a digital camera,but is not strictly limited thereto. For example, any apparatus that hasthe photographing function and that is portable by a user, such as amobile phone or a camcorder, may also be implemented as the userterminal 200.

The user terminal 200 may additionally include a built-in GPS to storelocation information in the photographed data during photographing.

Specifically, the user terminal 200 may receive a GPS signal from a GPSsatellite and generate location information.

More specifically, the user terminal 200 may measure a time and adistance for the signal from at least three GPS satellites to reach theuser terminal 200, to thereby measure the current location.Additionally, the user terminal 200 may use a Differential GPS (DGPS) tominimize an error range.

The user terminal 200 may acquire from the GPS signal not only thelocation information including latitude, longitude, and altitudeinformation, but also three-dimensional velocity information and precisetime information.

The user terminal 200 may store a location value in every photographthrough an external device such as GPS log, in response to clicking on aGPS log button, and may geotag the location information at a later stageto the photographed data by linking the corresponding location valuethrough an appropriate program.

The user can view the photographed images taken through the userterminal 200 on the screen of the display apparatus 100, together withthe image of the place (e.g., a street) where the images are taken. Insuch a situation, the display apparatus 100 and the user terminal 200may be linked to each other wirelessly via a wireless network such asWi-Fi, Wipi, Bluetooth, Ultra Wide (UW) and system, or alternatively,may be linked to each other via a wired network such as Universal SerialBus (USB), IEEE1394, or Ethernet.

If the user connects the display apparatus 100 to the user terminal 200,a street image is provided according to a course of travel based on thelocation information tagged in the photographed data. The photographeddata may be displayed overlappingly on the displayed street image. Theabove operation may be executed instantly upon receipt of thephotographed data, or in response to input of a user command. As theuser watches the photographs on the street image, it feels as if he/sheis moving along the same street that the photographs were taken on,thereby providing a more vivid memory.

Specifically, the display apparatus 100 may receive photographed dataand location information corresponding to the photographed data from theuser terminal 200 with photographing function. The display apparatusdetermines a course of travel of the photographing apparatus based onthe received location information and predefined location information ofa street image. According to the determined course of travel, thedisplay apparatus 100 may display the corresponding photographed data.In such a situation, the user may receive information about the courseof travel from the user terminal 200. Alternatively, the displayapparatus 100 may estimate the course of travel of the photographingapparatus using the location information included in the photographeddata.

More specifically, the display apparatus 100 may display a real-lifestreet image corresponding to respective spots on the determined courseof travel. The display apparatus 100 may present the photographed datatogether with the street view by displaying the correspondingphotographed data at the time of displaying the street imagecorresponding to the location information on the course of travel.

The display apparatus 100 may display a map image according to thedetermined course of travel. The display apparatus 100 may move an iconalong the course of travel on the map image and display a real-lifestreet image corresponding to the spot on which the icon is placed. Thedisplay apparatus 100 may display corresponding photographed data if theicon is on a spot that corresponds to the location information of thephotographed data.

Furthermore, if the icon is placed on a spot that corresponds to thelocation information of the photographed data on the map image, and ifthe real-life street image is available for the spot, the displayapparatus 100 may display the real-life street image and thephotographed data together.

The map information, map image or real-life street images, necessary forthe estimation of course of travel, may be provided through a webserver. The display apparatus 100 or the user terminal 200, whichevergenerates the course of travel, may be implemented to receivecorresponding data.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are block diagram illustrating the display apparatus 100constructed to provide the display service, according to an embodimentof the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the display apparatus 100 includes a communicatingunit 110, a display unit 120, a display 130, and a control unit 140.

The communicating unit 110 may perform communication with the userterminal 100 wirelessly or by wire. The communicating unit 110 may beimplemented as a wireless network interface such as Wi-Fi, wipi,Bluetooth, or UW and system, and depending on the case, may also beimplemented as a wired network interface such as USB, IEEE1394,orEthernet.

The communicating unit 110 may receive photographed data taken at theuser terminal 100. The photographed data may include the informationabout the location and time that the photographs were taken.

Additionally, the communicating unit 110 may receive a code from theuser terminal 100 to construct a Remote User Interface (RUI) screen. TheRUI may be implemented as a screen that is required to display thephotographed data on the display unit 130.

The communicating unit 110 may also receive a code from the web serverto obtain Application Programming Interface (API) that is required toconstruct a screen to display a street view. The code required toreceive the API may alternatively be previously stored in the displayapparatus 100. Accordingly, using a corresponding code, the displayapparatus 100 may download the API from the web server, which providesstreet images.

The storage unit 120 may provide a storage space to store software suchas an Operational System (OS) that is necessary for the operation of thedisplay apparatus 100.

The storage unit 120 may also store the photographed data received fromthe user terminal 100.

The storage unit 120 may additionally store at least one of theinformation about a course of travel received from the user terminal 100and the information about a course of travel generated at the displayapparatus 100.

The display apparatus 130 may display the photographed data receivedfrom the user terminal 100. Additionally, the display apparatus 130 mayoperate to display the street image corresponding to the course that isestimated based on the location information included in the photographeddata.

The display apparatus 100 may receive the map information and streetimage from the user terminal 200 to estimate the course of travel.Depending on the case, the display apparatus 100 may receive from theuser terminal 200 the map information and the corresponding street imageincluding the previously-estimated course of travel. The street imagemay be the real-life image of the corresponding street, and depending oncases, the street image may be provided as a graphic image or 3Dpicture. The street image may also be provided so that the street imagecan be rotated 360 degrees. Furthermore, people's faces or car numberplates may be blurred in the street image.

In another example of the present invention, the display apparatus 100may store the map information and street image to estimate the course oftravel in advance.

The display unit 130 may include a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), aPlasma Display Panel (PDP), or the like.

The control unit 140 may control the overall operations of therespective elements of the display apparatus 100.

In particular, the control unit 140 controls the display unit 130 toprocess and display the photographed data received through thecommunicating unit 110 on the screen. A user command may be inputtedthrough a remote controller or the user terminal 200.

The control unit 140 determines the course of travel of thephotographing apparatus based on the location information of thereceived photographed data and the location information of thepre-defined street image. The control unit 140 provides control so thatthe real-life street image corresponding to the respective spots on thedetermined course of travel can be displayed. If the locationinformation of the street image and the location information of thephotographed data meet a predetermined standard, the control unit 140may also provide control so that the photographed data can be displayedtogether with the street image.

Additionally, the control unit 140 may estimate possible courses oftravel based on the location information of the received photographeddata, and determine the course of travel of the photographing apparatusbased on the course of travel that provides the pre-defined streetimage, among the estimated courses of travel.

Additionally, the control unit 140 determines if there is a street imagefrom among the previously stored street images on the course of travelbetween respective intersections that matches the location informationof the photographed data. If there is not a street image, the controlunit 140 may determine a course of travel based on the locationinformation of the photographed data.

Specifically, the control unit 140 may determine whether or not thestreet image matches the predetermined standard based on whether or notthe location information of the street image and the locationinformation of the photographed data are within a predetermined distancerange. In order to determine if the respective location information iswithin a preset distance range, the control unit 140 may divide thedetermined course of travel into linear parts and determine if therespective location information is within a preset distanceperpendicular to the respective linear parts.

Additionally, the control unit 140 may provide control so that, if thereis no photographed data that corresponds to the location information ofthe street image and the predetermined standard, the street image can bedisplayed in an altered state or together with the related information.

Additionally, if the location information of the temporally-continuousphotographed data corresponds to the location information of a streetdifferent from the street whose street image is currently provided, thecontrol unit 140 may provide control so that the street image can bedisplayed in an altered state (e.g., in black and white, in reduction,or canceled). The control unit 140 may also provide control so that theinformation of the street whose street image is provided, or the streetinformation matching the location information of the photographed datacan be displayed.

Additionally, if there is no photographed data that corresponds to thedisplayed street image, the control unit 140 may cause the photographeddata, which is located (photographed) temporally between at least twopieces of photographed data and that matches the pre-defined streetimage, to be displayed.

The control unit 140 may control the display unit 130 to display thecorresponding photographed data along the determined course of travel.

Specifically, the control unit 140 may control the display unit 130 todisplay the real-life street images corresponding to the respectivespots on the determined course of travel, and display the photographeddata together when displaying the street image of the spot thatcorresponds to the location information of the photographed data on thecourse of travel.

The control unit 140 may determine that the photographed data matchesthe course of travel, if the location information of the course oftravel is within a preset distance range to the location information ofthe photographed data.

If there is a plurality of photographed data in which the locationinformation of the course of travel and the location information of thephotographed data are within the preset distance range, the control unit140 may provide control so that the photographed data with the leasterror can be displayed. Alternatively, the control unit 140 may providecontrol so that the plurality of photographed data in which the locationinformation of the course of travel and the location information of thephotographed data are within the preset distance range, can be displayedat once.

If the location information of the temporally-continuous photographeddata corresponds to the location of a street different from the streetwhose street image is currently provided, the control unit 140 may causethe street image to be displayed in an altered state (e.g., in black andwhite, in reduction, or canceled). Additionally, the control unit 140may cause the information of the street whose street image is provided,or the information about the street that matches the location of thephotographed data, to be displayed together.

The control unit 140 may control the display unit 130 to display a mapimage according to the determined course of travel in which case thedisplay unit 130 may move an icon along the course of travel on the mapimage and display real-life street image corresponding to the spot wherethe icon is on. The control unit 140 may control the display unit 130 todisplay corresponding photographed data if the icon is on a spot thatcorresponds to the location information of the photographed data.

Furthermore, if the icon is placed on a spot which corresponds to thelocation information of the photographed data on the map image and ifthe real-life street image is available for the spot, the control unit140 may control the display unit 130 to display the real-life streetimage and the photographed data together.

The operation explained above may be executed upon receipt of thephotographed data at the display apparatus 100, or alternatively, inresponse to a user command.

Referring to FIG. 2B, a display apparatus 100′ includes thecommunicating unit 110, the storage unit 120, the display unit 130, thecontrol unit 140, and a network interface unit 150.

The display apparatus 100′ of FIG. 2B may receive map information and astreet image from the web server, or the like, to estimate the course oftravel.

The network interface unit 150 communicates with the web server thatprovides the map information and real-life street images. The mapinformation may be implemented in the form of a map image, and thestreet image may be implemented in the form of a real-life picture.

The control unit 140 may estimate the course of travel of the userterminal 200 based on the location information included in thephotographed data received from the user terminal 200.

Specifically, the control unit 140 may transmit the location informationincluded in the photographed data to a corresponding web server via thenetwork interface unit 150, and be provided with the estimated course oftravel and a corresponding map image and real-life street image from theweb server.

Alternatively, it is possible that the control unit 140 receives the mapinformation necessary for the estimation of the course of travel fromthe web server via the network interface unit 150, and estimates thecourses of travel accordingly.

The control unit 140 may control the network interface unit 150 totransmit the estimated course of travel or location information of thephotographed data to the corresponding web server and download thecorresponding map image and the real-life street images corresponding tothe respective spots on the map image.

Additionally, the control unit 140 may control the display unit 120 todisplay the photographed data that correspond to the course of traveland the respective spots of the course of travel on the map image.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating the user terminal 200 to providethe displaying services explained above, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

A photographing unit 210 operates to photograph a target under thecontrol of a control unit 250 according to a user command inputted to aninput unit. The photographing unit 210 also generates image data. Thephotographing unit 210 may include a lens that focuses the opticalsignal reflected from an object, and a Charge Coupled Device thatconverts the optical signal, focused through the lens, into anelectrical signal.

During photographing, a location receiving unit 220 receives a GPSsignal regarding the place where the photograph is taken.

The location receiving unit 220 may receive the GPS signal transmittedfrom the GPS satellite and generates location information. Specifically,the location receiving unit 220 may measure the time and distance for asignal from at least three GPS satellites thereto to estimate thecurrent location thereof. The Differential GPS (DGPS) may be used tominimize the error range. The user terminal 200 may acquire not onlylocation information including latitude, longitude, and altitudeinformation, but also the three-dimensional velocity information andprecise time information.

A storage unit 230 stores photographed data generated at thephotographing unit 210. Additionally, the storage unit 230 may provide astorage space to store software such as an OS, which is necessary tooperate the user terminal 200.

A communicating unit 240 operates to transmit the stored photographeddata of the storage unit 230 to the displaying apparatus 100. Thecommunicating unit 240 may be implemented as a wireless networkinterface, such as Wi-Fi, wipi, Bluetooth, or Ultra Wide (UW) andsystem, and may also be implemented as a wired network interface, suchas USB, IEEE1394, or Ethernet.

The control unit 250 may provide control so that a course of travel isset based on the location information received during photographing bythe photographing unit 210 and also based on a pre-defined street imagereceived via the network including the Internet. The set course oftravel is transmitted to the display apparatus 100 via the communicatingunit 240.

The control unit 250 may control the location receiving unit 220 toreceive a GPS signal while photographing at the photographing unit 210.

Additionally, the control unit 250 may provide control so that thelocation information generated at the location receiving unit 220 isgeotagged to the photographed data generated at the photographing unit210.

Additionally, the control unit 250 may estimate the course of travelbased on the location information generated through the locationreceiving unit 220 while photographing at the photographing unit 210.Specifically, the control unit 250 may refer to the previously-generatedlocation information to estimate the course of travel to the currentstate, and check the same at preset intervals to update and store thecourse of travel.

In the above embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 250may arrange the previously generated location information in time order,store the arrangement, and also transmit the stored arrangement to thedisplay apparatus 100.

Additionally, the control unit 250 may transmit the arranged data of thepreviously generated location information in time order to the webserver, and receive from the web server a map image including the courseof travel, which is estimated based on the arranged data.

Alternatively, the control unit 250 may receive from the web server (notillustrated) the corresponding map information of a place of interest,and map and store the course of travel into the map based on thepreviously generated location information.

Specifically, the user terminal 200 may either store the informationabout the course or travel in which the location information is arrangedin time order, or store the information about the course of travel inwhich the course of travel, estimated based on the previously generatedlocation information (implementable as a map image, for example), ismapped into the map. In the former's case, the display apparatus 100 mayreceive the information of the course of travel in which the locationinformation is arranged in time order and map the received informationinto a map. In the latter case, the display apparatus 100′ may receivethe information of the course of travel, which is mapped into a map, foruse.

Depending on the case, the user terminal 200 may transmit photographeddata to the display apparatus 100′ only if the photographed data isgeotagged. It is possible that the display apparatus 100′ estimates thecourse of travel using the location information geotagged to thephotographed data.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating a server that provides a displayservice, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3B, a server 300 includes an extracting unit 310, astorage unit 320, a control unit 330 and a communicating unit 340.

The extracting unit 310 extracts corresponding location information fromthe photographed data. The photographed data may refer to data that isreceived from external devices including digital cameras, mobile phoneswith photographing units, external storage mediums, or the like.

The storage unit 320 stores a street image and a corresponding course oftravel. At least one from among the street image and the correspondingcourse of travel may be provided from outside, i.e., from an externaldata server, or the like.

The control unit 330 applies a predetermined standard to link thephotographed data to a course of action with the stored street image,based on the extracted location information.

The communicating unit 340 may provide the photographed data togetherwith the course of travel with the linked, pre-stored street image.Specifically, the communicating unit 340 may provide the user terminalhaving display function with corresponding data.

Additionally, the control unit 330 may estimate a possible course oftravel based on the extracted location information of the photographeddata, and links the photographed data to the course of travel, whichprovides the pre-stored street image.

The control unit 330 may also determine if there is a street image thatmatches the location information of the photographed data based on theextracted location information of the photographed data, from among thepre-stored street images that correspond to the course of travel betweenrespective intersections. Accordingly, if no pre-stored street imagematches the location information of the photographed data, the controlunit 330 may determine a course of travel based on the locationinformation of the photographed data.

The control unit 330 may also determine a course of travel to link thephotographed data to, based on whether or not the location informationof the pre-stored street image and the location information of thephotographed data are within a preset distance range.

Specifically, in order to determine if the respective locationinformation is within a preset distance range, the determined course oftravel may be divided into a plurality of linear parts and it isdetermined if the respective location information is within a presetdistance perpendicular to the respective linear parts.

If there is no photographed data that corresponds to the locationinformation of the street image and the predetermined standard, thecontrol unit 330 may control so that the street image can be displayedin altered state and together with the related information.

The control unit 330 may generate a map image along the linked course oftravel.

The control unit 330 may generate an icon movable along the course oftravel on the map image, and match real-life street image correspondingto the spot where the icon is on. The control unit 330 may providecorresponding photographed data if the icon is on a spot thatcorresponds to the location information of the photographed data.

Furthermore, if the icon is placed on a spot that corresponds to thelocation information of the photographed data and if the real-lifestreet image is available for the spot, the control unit 330 may providethe real-life street image and the photographed data together.

The construction of the user terminal, which receives the street image,photographed data and corresponding course of travel from the server 300of FIG. 3B is described below.

The user terminal may include a communicating unit to receivephotographed data linked to a course of travel including pre-storedstreet images and a corresponding street image. The user terminal mayalso include a display unit to display the photographed data, and acontrol unit to control the display unit to display the correspondingphotographed data together when displaying the street image along thecourse of travel based on the received photographed data.

The course of travel refers to a course of travel with pre-stored streetimages, which is linked by the server 300 based on the locationinformation extracted from the photographed data.

It is understood by those skilled in the art that the construction ofthe user terminal of FIGS. 2A to 3A is implementable for the userterminal performing the functions described above.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display method, according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4 , it is assumed that the user travels Oxford, GreatBritain.

It is also assumed that the user took photographs in the course oftravel as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4 .

FIGS. 5A to 5C are views provided to explain a display method, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to view photographs taken along the course of travel asillustrated in FIG. 4 , the user connects the photographing apparatus(e.g., digital camera) to the displaying apparatus (e.g., digital TV).Upon connection, and in response to a user command, the screen, asillustrated in FIGS. 5A to 5C, appears on the digital TV.

Referring to FIGS. 5A to 5C, the street image corresponding to thecourse of travel (St Giles→High st→New Rd) is displayed on the screen.

Such street images may be received from the web server, which providesstreet images all around the world together with map information.

If there is a photograph that corresponds to the location information ofthe displayed street image from among the photographs received from theuser's digital camera while the street images corresponding to theuser's course of travel are displayed, according to one embodiment, thecorresponding photograph may be displayed as a sub-screen on the displayscreen as illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B. However, other embodiments arepossible. For example, if there is a photograph that corresponds to thedisplayed street image, according to another embodiment, the streetimage may be displayed as a sub-screen, while the correspondingphotograph is displayed as the main screen.

In yet another embodiment, if there is a photograph that corresponds toa specific spot on the course of travel, only the correspondingphotograph may be displayed without the street image.

Meanwhile, if there is no photograph that corresponds to the locationinformation of the displayed street image, as illustrated in FIG. 5C,only the street image may be displayed.

Although not illustrated, if there is no street image that correspondsto the user's course of travel, only the corresponding photograph may bedisplayed.

It is also possible that a corresponding map image is displayed insteadof the street image as illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6C, if there is nostreet image corresponding to the user's course of travel. In thisexample too, the map image screen may directly be transformed into astreet image screen if there is the street image corresponding tocertain spot on the course of travel.

FIGS. 6A to 6C are views provided to explain a display method accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

The user connects the photographing apparatus (e.g., digital camera) tothe displaying apparatus (e.g., digital TV) to view photographed data hetaken along the course of travel as illustrated in FIG. 4 . Uponconnection, or in response to a user command, the screen as illustratedin FIGS. 6A to 6C appears on the digital TV screen.

Referring to FIGS. 6A to 6C, the map image corresponding to the user'sactual course of travel (i.e., St Giles→High st→New Rd) is displayed.

As explained above, the map image may be received from the web serverwhich provides the map images all around the world.

According to the user's course of travel, a user icon may appear on themap image to indicate the current spot, thereby enabling the user torecognize easily as to the spot of the course of travel thecorresponding photograph was taken.

According to the user's course of travel on the map image, if there is aphotograph corresponding to the location information of the user iconfrom among the photographs received from the user's digital camera, thecorresponding photograph may be displayed as a sub-screen within thedisplay screen as illustrated in FIGS. 6A and 6B.

If there is no photograph that corresponds to the location informationof the user icon on the map image, the corresponding street image may bedisplayed as the sub-screen.

Meanwhile, the street image screen illustrated in FIGS. 5A to 5C and themap image screen illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6C may be transformed inaccordance with the user command.

Furthermore, as described above, the map image and the street image mayreplace each other as necessary.

Furthermore, depending on the manner of implementation, the streetimage, map image and the corresponding photograph may be displayedconcurrently on one screen.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are views provided to explain various embodiments ofdisplaying the map image of FIGS. 6A to 6C.

Referring to FIG. 6A, a user icon appears along the course of travel. Inone embodiment, an icon may appear to indicate it if there is aphotograph corresponding to the location information of the respectivespots of the course of travel, for the notice of the user. Accordingly,the user knows on which spot on the course of travel the photograph isgoing to be displayed.

Referring to the screen of FIG. 6B, the spot on which the user icon iscurrently placed, i.e., the photograph currently displayed on thedisplay screen, is marked by an icon distinguishable from the icons ofthe other photographs. Specifically, the icons are differentiated bysize. However, this is written only for illustrative purpose, and theicons may be differentiated by a variety of ways such as shading,highlighting, or the like.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a display method of a displayingapparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

According to the display method of the displaying apparatus of FIG. 8 ,at step S810, the photographed data and location informationcorresponding to the photographed data are received from thephotographing apparatus. The location information may be implemented asbeing geotagged to the corresponding photographed. At step S820, thephotographed data and the location information are stored.

At step S830, a course of travel by the photographing apparatus isdetermined based on the received location information of thephotographed data and location information of pre-stored street image.

At step S840, the real-life street image corresponding to each spot onthe determined course of travel is displayed, and if the locationinformation of the street image and the location information of thephotographed data meet a predetermined standard, the correspondingphotographed data is displayed together with the street image.

The determining of the course of travel in step S820 may includeestimating possible courses of travel based on the received locationinformation of the photographed data and determining one of the possiblecourses of travel that provides the pre-stored street image as thecourse of travel.

Additionally, whether or not the predetermined standard is met at instep S840 may be determined based on determination as to whether thelocation information of the street image and the location information ofthe photographed data are within a preset distance range. Specifically,the determined course of travel is divided into a plurality of linearparts and it is determined whether the respective location informationexists within a preset distance perpendicular to the respective linearparts.

If there is no photographed data that meets the location information ofthe street image and the predetermined standard at step S840, the streetimage may be displayed in altered state, or displayed together withrelated information.

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the mapinformation to estimate the course of travel, the map imagecorresponding to the estimated course of travel, and the real-lifestreet image corresponding to the respective spots on the map image, maybe received from a related web server.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for generating data of auser terminal, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

According to the method for generating data of the user terminal of FIG.9 , at step S910, location information is received upon generating ofthe photographed data by photographing.

At step S920, a course of travel by the user terminal is set based onthe location information received during photographing at step S910 andalso based on a pre-defined street image. It is possible to update andperiodically store the course of travel based on the locationinformation received at step S910 and the pre-defined street image. Thestreet image may be received from a corresponding web server.

Alternatively, the location information received during photographing atstep S910 may be transmitted to the web server and the information onthe course of travel estimated at the web server based on the locationinformation and the pre-defined street image provided by the web servermay be received from the web server.

At step S930, the photographed data generated at step S920 and theinformation on the set course of travel are transmitted to an externaldisplay apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing service,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

According to a method for providing service as illustrated in FIG. 10 ,at step S1010, the corresponding location information is extracted fromthe photographed data.

Next, at step S1020, based on a predetermined standard applied accordingto the extracted location information, the photographed data is linkedto a course of travel, which has the pre-stored street image.

At step S1030, the photographed data, together with the linked course oftravel having the pre-stored street image, is provided to the externaldevice.

The operation at step S1020 may include estimating possible courses oftravel based on the extracted location information of the photographeddata, and linking one of the possible courses of travel that providesthe pre-stored street image, to the photographed data.

Additionally, the operation at step S1020 may include determining, basedon the extracted location information of the photographed data, if thereis a street image that matches the location information of thephotographed data from among the pre-stored street images correspondingto the course of travel between the respective intersections within thecourse of travel. If there is the pre-stored street image thatcorresponds to the locate information of the photographed data, a courseof travel is determined based on the pre-stored street image. If not,the course of travel may be determined based on the location informationof the photographed data.

Additionally, the operation at step S1020 may include determining, basedon the extracted location information of the photographed data, a courseof travel to which the photographed data is linked, based on adetermination as to whether or not the location information of thepre-stored street image and the location information of the photographeddata are within a predetermined distance range.

The determination as to whether the location information is within thepredetermined distance range may be performed by dividing the determinedcourse of travel into linear parts and determining if the respectivelocation information is within a preset distance perpendicular to therespective linear parts.

Furthermore, the operation at step S1030 may include displaying thestreet image in altered state or together with related information aboutthe street image, if there is no photographed data corresponding to thelocation information of the street image of the course of travel and thepredetermined standard.

Furthermore, the method may additionally include generating a map imagealong the linked course of travel, generating an icon to be moved alongthe course of travel on the generated map image, matching a spot withthe icon thereon with a real-life street image, and providing thephotographed data if the icon is placed on a spot corresponding to thelocation information.

The operation of providing the photographed data may include providingthe photographed data together with the real-life street image, if thereis real-life street image available for the spot, which corresponds tothe location information and on which the icon is placed.

Meanwhile, according to a control method of the user terminal, whichreceives and displays photographed data according to the control methodof the server of FIG. 10 , first, the course of travel and thecorresponding street image are received from the server. As the streetimage is displayed along the course of travel based on the receivedphotographed data, the corresponding photographed data is displayedtogether. The course of travel may refer to the course of travel whichis linked according to a predetermined standard applied based on thelocation information extracted from the photographed data.

Accordingly, upon viewing the photographs, the user feels as if he/sheis actually walking along the same street that he/she walked on duringphotographing, and thus can have more vivid memory.

The present invention can be modified into a variety of configurations,and should not be limited by the content illustrated or describedherein.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various changes in form and detail may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as definedby the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: a display; andat least one processor configured to: receive a plurality ofuser-captured photo images respectively corresponding to a plurality oflocation information for locations at which the photo images werecaptured, wherein the plurality of photo images includes a first photoimage and a second photo image corresponding to the location informationof the first photo image, based on a first user input to the electronicdevice, control the display to display a first visual element indicatinga position associated with the first photo image among the plurality ofphoto images on a portion of a first map corresponding to the locationinformation of the first photo image, and control the display todisplay, along with the first visual element, a second visual elementindicating a position associated with the second photo image among theplurality of photo images on a portion of the first map corresponding tothe location information of the second photo image.
 2. The electronicdevice according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of photo imagesincludes a third photo image corresponding to the location informationof the first photo image, wherein the processor is further configuredto: control the display to display, along with the first visual element,second visual element, a third visual element indicating a positionassociated with to the third photo image on a portion of the first mapcorresponding to the location information of the third photo image. 3.The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality oflocation information is generated by receiving a GPS signal.
 4. Theelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: control the display to display the first map on a displayscreen, and control the display to display the first photo image on asub screen within the display screen.
 5. The electronic device accordingto claim 1, wherein the electronic device further comprises a networkinterface unit; wherein the processor is further configured to: throughthe network interface unit, transmit the location information of thefirst photo image to a web server, and through the network interfaceunit, receive the first map corresponding to the location information ofthe first photo image from the web server.
 6. The electronic deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the location information of the firstphoto image is tagged the first photo image.
 7. A method for anelectronic device, the control method comprising: receiving a pluralityof user-captured photo images respectively corresponding to a pluralityof location information for locations at which the photo images werecaptured, wherein the plurality of photo images includes a first photoimage and a second photo image corresponding to the location informationof the first photo image, based on a first user input to the electronicdevice, displaying a first visual element indicating a positionassociated with the first photo image among the plurality of photoimages on a portion of a first map corresponding to the locationinformation of the first photo image, and displaying, along with thefirst visual element, a second visual element indicating a positionassociated with the second photo image among the plurality of photoimages on a portion of the first map corresponding to the locationinformation of the second photo image.
 8. The method according to claim7, wherein the plurality of photo images includes a third photo imagecorresponding to the location information of the first photo image, andwherein the method further comprises: displaying, along with the firstvisual element, second visual element, a third visual element indicatinga position associated with to the third photo image on a portion of thefirst map corresponding to the location information of the third photoimage.
 9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the plurality oflocation information is generated by receiving a GPS signal.
 10. Themethod according to claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:displaying the first map on a display screen, and displaying the firstphoto image on a sub screen within the display screen.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 7, wherein the method further comprises: transmittingthe location information of the first photo image to a web server, andreceiving the first map corresponding to the location information of thefirst photo image from the web server.
 12. The method according to claim7, wherein the location information of the first photo image is taggedthe first photo image.